ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 17, 1996 TAG: 9601170025
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: SCOTT HARPER LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
State money for environmental protection in Virginia has dropped 45 percent since 1989, according to a study released Monday by conservationists, who warn that the trend poses risks to clean air, water and soil.
The study, conducted by Friends of the Earth, a national environmental group, comes as the Allen administration has proposed reducing state funding again by some $10 million through 1997.
That includes a 51 percent cut for inspections of industrial plants, toxic waste pits and other pollution sources, and a 32 percent drop in money for enforcement of environmental laws, the study said.
``This would be an all-time low,'' Patti Jackson, executive director of the James River Association, said at a news conference at the Capitol.
Michael McKenna, director of policy and planning for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, said such numbers can be deceiving. While not disputing a smaller state role in environmental programs, McKenna said industry and taxpayers have picked up the slack, and then some.
He pointed to one section of the study that showed that total environmental spending in Virginia - including state funds, permit fees, special taxes and federal aid - has climbed from $82 million in 1987 to a projected $201 million in 1997.
``The citizens of the commonwealth are spending more on the environment, period,'' McKenna said, noting that industry fees and federal aid derive from the same source: taxpayers.
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